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Virus hobbles classes at Sabinal ISD




Richard Grill

The surge of COVID-19 cases in the area has created a debilitating staffing shortage at Sabinal Independent School District, causing the district to close its secondary campus for the week.

The elementary campus remains open. Students affected by the closure were directed to continue instruction virtually.

Sabinal ISD Superintendent Richard Grill said 12 people, or approximately 32 percent of the total staff at the secondary campus, is sidelined. He also said the junior high and high school share some of the same employees, compounding the problem.

“To elaborate further, at this time four secondary staff are COVID positive,” he said. “Four others are quarantined due to close exposure and another four are out for unrelated reasons, or 32 percent of total staff.”

Without an option to combine classes due to overcrowding, Grill said the district could not “adequately serve or even supervise the students who remain in school.”

Grill said he estimates, based on voluntary information, that approximately 50 percent of district employees are vaccinated.

The coronavirus has also affected dozens of students at Sabinal ISD this year.

From Aug. 15 through Sept. 10, comprising approximately four weeks of in-person classes at Sabinal ISD, 30 students have been confirmed to have COVID-19, more than double the total student cases logged throughout the prior school year.

“….We only had 13 total COVID-19 cases in 2020-21 school year, with the first occurring on Nov. 9 [2020] and last on March 22, [2021], and 11 of those were students,” he said.

“…I am not a medical expert, and do not pretend to be, however it appears that this variant is much more contagious. But I do believe common sense also tells us that the previous variants were also very infectious and we should reconsider things we did last year to mitigate the spread of the virus,” he said.

“…Furthermore, I ask parents to please keep their children home if they feel sick or even have allergy-like symptoms, and when others in the household are sick, so to prevent further exposure to everyone in our schools. Finally, please reconsider wearing masks when inside or around others, distancing from others at all times, and sanitize hands very often,” he said.

Since the first day of school, the district has implored community members to take COVID-19 precautions to ensure the continuity of face-to-face instruction.

Meghann Garcia|Leader-News
Sabinal High School, 409 W. Cullins Ave.

In a letter penned four days after classes began, Grill wrote to families saying it was imperative that each student, employee and visitor self-assess their health daily, “so not to pose a health threat to others.”

The letter was a result of a spike in COVID-19 cases just as the welcome-back-to-school dust was settling and nine coronavirus cases were reported among staff and students.

Further urging of community support was issued in a letter a day later, on Aug. 21, as the district asked all junior high and high school students to test for COVID-19, due to the difficulty of contact tracing.

On Aug. 30, Sabinal High School Principal Steve Alvarado issued a letter, strongly recommending that staff and students wear face masks and social distance.

“Please be advised, with the recent surge COVID positive reports, the district will need the efforts of all staff, students and parents to keep and maintain valuable in-school instruction,” Alvarado said.

Since Aug. 5, Sabinal ISD has sponsored four vaccination clinics in the high school cafeteria.

Sabinal ISD is the second school in the area to close a campus in its entirety due to the pandemic. Leakey ISD administrators closed the entire district last week also due to a staffing shortage caused by COVID-19.

As of Wednesday, Uvalde County Health Authority officials reported 412 active cases of COVID-19.

mfederspill@ulnnow.com, 830-278-3335